The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-09-19
Foreign Notes.
NERVOUS hewitt.
Queer Conduct OF an oyer-WoFked
Public Servant.
IN. Y. Man ana Expressl

w. H mdli anu EAptcool
Mayor Hewitt is really mere bundle of
nerves. How any man in his physical con-
dition can attempt to do the work through
which be daily forces his way Is source OF
wonder to everybody who has any idea Of
the man or the embarrassments from which
he suffers. A combination Of dyspepsia and
rheumatism make life a torture for him.
Sometimes he is confined TO his room for
days, suffering agonies from the twinges 81
rheumatism. but he never finches from his
work as long as he can hold up his head or
keep his eyes open. He has his papers
brought to his room, and sticks to them un-
til he has evolved way out Of the difacITc
ties. He does this by sheer will power, but
this terfiUie wrenchtns of his slight frame
has long since broken down his nervous sys-
TEN and has made him the irritable man that
he Is.
Probably one reason why he has succeed
ed In overcoming his nfrmities 50 well Is his
firm belief that he Is the savior Of New York
society. 1t was only that which induced him
TO accept the nomination, his heart being set
upon the defeat Of Henry George, whose doe
trines he abhOrs. Once In cflice, his inherent
sense Of right compelled him 10 vigorously
attack the abuses which were plainly rife In
all the city departments. Unfortunately,
these abuses are Of such long standing that
it Is difficult to uproot them. and so the may
or found, to his sorrow. All the politicians
Of the lower sort were deeply Interested In
their preservation, and all the political ma
chinery was turned against the attacker. But
the old man Is pugnacious and determined,
and the result has been a steady conflict. IL
has been an uphill fight for him, and every
time he pauses for breathing spell the enc
my swoop down to their old places, and fresh
n M QrKF IN n ktn...
The continual wear and tear upon him have,
Of course, increased his nervousness and ir-
ritability.
1t Is easier for the ordinary citizen to ap-
proaeh him than II has been probably with
any mayor this city has ever had. With May
or Grace, unless the caller was known to him
a great deal OF red tape had 10 be overcome
before the caller could get into his august
presence; and even then, the chances were
against his seeing him. In all probability he
would be turned over to the private seereta-
ry, who was clever, young man, ready TO
make a great many asSuranceSbut with
conveniently poor memory. In consequence
Of the ease with which Mr.. Hewitt can be
seen he Is almost pestered to death by call
ers, most Of them with axes 20 grind. His
temper Is by no means the best under such
circumstances, and his language Is frequent
ly more forcible than polite.
was told Of an occurrence Of this nature
where well known politician Sunset Cox
was referred TO by the candidate for favOrs.
The mayors opinion Of the politician" What
that-thief!'-is said TO have completely
ti0ored his visitor. An idea Of his intense
nervousness can be obtained from the fol-
In the CatSkills, where he was stopping for
the summer several seasons ago.
1t Is, am told on trustworthy authority :,
his custom TO engage all the rooms ON the
same floor as his own, in order to insure per-
feet quiet The mere knowledge that anOth-
er person lived in a room In proximity TO his
own would be enough TO spoil the pleasure
of his stay. On this occasion, however, be-
ing more than usually Ill, he had engaged all
the rooms on the floor above also, as he said
that he could not bear the idea Of having
anyone trampling overhead. The first night
his sleep was disturbed by the nocturnal mu-
sic of some OF the cats Of the neighbOrhOod.
Early the next morning he summoned the
proprietor and demanded in petulant tones
that he Immediately rid the vicinity Of all Of
these feline intruderS As he prOmenaded
up and down the veranda later In the day a
eur trotted up TO him and whined for a ca
ress. At once all the sunshine had departed
from his sky and darkness settled upon his
pleasure. From that time on dogs were
tabOOed and none dared show his head In
the neghbOrhOod. The hotel proprietor
grumbled a little behind the mayors back,
but did not dare express his disfayOr 10 so
liberal guest. He had to draw the line,
however when several days later the dis
tinguiShed statesman again called him In
high dudgeon and demanded that he sheot
all the sparrOws around the hotel, as their
twittering irritated ais nerves. The mayor
left the hotel upon the propriet0rs express
ing his inability 10 carry out this order.
The men who conducted the mayoralty
campaign for him had their hands full, and
probably could never be induced to attempt
such an enterprise again. The reporters
who had TO interview him at that time were
greatly disgusted with his incivility to them.
Yet II Is only his inhrmities that make him
so captious. Naturally he Is extremely po-
lite, as is evidenced by his conduct toward
the ladies' who call upon him. Many per
al he Is passing through are firmly convinced
that his present office will cost him his
life.